Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/717204
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 21 AUGUST 2016 17 Feature horse rescuers consequences. "Sadly, an unwanted horse will always be an unwanted horse, and simply stating that they shouldn't be killed is not enough," she said, recounting one of the most touch- ing and extreme cases the group had encountered so far. Three-year-old Chance was bred for racing, but a deformity in his shoulder meant that he ultimately couldn't race, leading the owners to shun him. "Although he wasn't put down early on, he came to us emaciated and weak, beyond anything we had ever experienced. He couldn't even stand," Farrugia said. "His was the only case when the vet actually told me not to get attached because his condition was so bad." However, perseverance on the group's part ultimately meant that Chance has become quite the pic- ture of health, and his personality seems unperturbed as he occasion- ally tried to gently snatch anything from my papers to the microphone during our visit. Although these cases are rare, of the four horses being homed by the organisation at the moment, new- comer Ali (named after Muhammad Ali whose death occurred on the same day that the colt came to RMJ) arrived under similar circumstances. "He is a severely malnourished po- ny not older than three years, and his hooves are in very bad shape as a re- sult of bad shoeing," she said, adding that he currently isn't very trusting of people, veering towards the aggres- sive at times. "It's not uncommon for horses res- cued in his condition, but eventually they learn to trust people again once they realise we aren't going to hurt them." Duca told the newsroom of a simi- lar case, one of the most extreme the association had come across, with one of their current residents, New Year. "He came to us on New Year's day a couple of years ago, and he had been abandoned, wounded in a field where he could no longer move," she said, adding that his wounds had fes- tered by the time he was found. Although he looks perfectly nor- mal now, Duca pointed out that not all horses recovered from past psy- chological traumas, and that horses were often susceptible to anxiety and at times even depressive tendencies. Finding a remedy to this state of affairs seems unlikely, but these or- ganizations, the only two offering re- habilitation programmes for horses in Malta, are giving at least a small number of these horses the oppor- tunity to live longer lives in dignity. Both organisations explained how they saw their groups developing, hoping for more space and funding and volunteers to allow them to take in more horses. "Every horse has a unique history that we believe ought to be respect- ed," Duca said, adding that although not endemic to Malta, the situation was exacerbated locally by the lack of open space available to breeders. "Our ultimate goal is to try and help prevent unnecessary deaths as much as possible," Farrugia said, urging animal lovers to help in any way they could. Chance Before and After – Chance came to RMJ emaciated and unable to stand on his own legs